overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country
People Botswana
Population:
1,640,115
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 38.8% (male 322,916/female 312,735)
15–64 years: 57.5% (male 455,183/female 487,236)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 23,914/female 38,131) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 19.29 years
male: 18.64 years
female: 19.93 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
23.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
29.36 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 53.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 33.87 years
male: 33.89 years
female: 33.84 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.85 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
37.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
350,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
33,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2004)
Nationality:
noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
Ethnic groups:
Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including
Kgalagadi and white 7%
Religions:
Christian 71.6%, Badimo 6%, other 1.4%, unspecified 0.4%, none
20.6% (2001 census)
Languages:
Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1%
(official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.8%
male: 76.9%
female: 82.4% (2003 est.)
Government Botswana
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana
former: Bechuanaland
Government type:
parliamentary republic
Capital:
Gaborone
Administrative divisions:
9 districts and 5 town councils*; Central, Francistown*, Gaborone*,
Ghanzi, Jwaneng*, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Northwest,
Northeast, Selebi-Pikwe*, Southeast, Southern
Independence:
30 September 1966 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966)
Constitution:
March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
Legal system:
based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review
